


Rose Colored Glasses

by Infinity_Pain



Category: Infinity Train (Cartoon)
Genre: Allergies, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Awkward Flirting, Blushing, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26823181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infinity_Pain/pseuds/Infinity_Pain
Summary: Grace is a 21 year old full time college student and part time florist at Apex Flowers in the Infinity Mall. She loves her flowers, is always ready with a fun story, and is a general joy to be around.Simon Laurent is a 21 year old part time college student and full time anxiety ridden disaster with a pollen allergy that's so bad it's only beaten in scope by his crush on Grace who he only ever sees when she's working.Romantic hijinx ensue.
Relationships: Simon Laurent & Grace Monroe, Simon Laurent/Grace Monroe
Comments: 42
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

Simon Laurent absent-mindedly scrolled through his phone as he walked through the Infinity Mall. Looking over all the assignments he had due it was clear he’d have to ask for an extension. Again. “Ugh,” Simon thought “I’m absolutely screwed. Why does school have to be so hard? Then again I’m probably not making it any better by going to the mall instead of trying to do any work.” It was true that he’d simply been looking for any opportunity to blow off his school work when he’d decided to stop by the mall. Though he’d promised himself he was only there to get a soft pretzel and then leave right after that promise had been broken. “I’ve been here for four hours.” he noted checking the time on his phone. Simon was so wrapped up in his own thoughts and worries about his utter failure to complete any of his work that he didn’t even register the sound of a very loud group of teenagers screaming behind him. Nor did he notice that they had taken a shopping cart for a joyride and were careening towards him at top speed at least until he turned around. Seeing this Simon could only stand frozen in fear, this moment combined his two greatest fears, bodily harm, and teenagers. He shut his eyes and prepared to be rammed into at high velocity only to hear someone yell,

“Look out!” and promptly pull him out of danger. Simon still had his eyes closed but it quickly became clear he wasn’t going to be hit. Opening his eyes to see who’d rescued him he almost wished he kept them closed. 

“Fuck its a girl! A hot girl! And she’s staring at me!” Simon internally panicked upon seeing the face of the woman who’d pulled him out of the way of the shopping cart. She looked around his age and the name tag on her apron said Grace. “That’s a pretty name.” Simon thought for a moment before remembering he still hadn’t said anything. “Okay Simon, focus, you have to say something to her because right now you're just staring at her and she probably thinks you're a crazy person. Just open your mouth and say words to her. It’s not that hard, she’s just a person. Yeah she’s the most attractive person you’ve ever seen and yes she just saved your life and yeah she smells really nice and- No! Stop thinking about how she smells. SAY SOMETHING TO HER.” Simon’s face was red and he looked utterly panicked. Despite his best efforts he failed to come up with the words to say to the incredibly attractive woman who was staring at him. Luckily she didn’t seem to mind, speaking to him first.

“You okay? You throw some unsupervised teenagers in a mall and it’s utter anarchy so don’t feel too bad about almost getting hit.” She offered. “Well I guess you can feel a little bad if you want.” she added. Simon chuckled at this before his mind descended into chaos once again.

“Shit, she’s funny too. You have to SAY SOMETHING Simon. Just, just thank her for saving you. Yeah that’s it just a nice simple thank you.” Simon opened his mouth to speak to her right as her watch emitted a beep. 

“Oh, looks like my break is over. Try to be more careful, cause I won’t be able to rescue you next time okay.” Grace said as she began walking away. Now Simon was in legitimate panic mode.

“Simon you idiot that hot girl was just talking to you and you didn’t say anything and you didn’t even thank her and now she’s walking away so TALK TO HER.” his mind screamed at him. Finally Simon convinced his brain to say something even if it was only one word. “Wait!” he said. Grace turned around and looked at him expectantly. “Alright she’s looking at you. Did you have a second part to this plan?” Simon thought. The answer was no, he did not have a second part to that plan. Quickly Simon said the first thing that came into his mind. “Where do you work?” he asked before slapping himself internally. “Where do you work? You sound like a stalker, she definitely thinks you're a stalker Simon! Say something else so you don’t sound like a total crazy person.” He racked his brain for anything he could add that would be any sort of justification for his statement. “I don’t mean in like a creepy way (That’s exactly what someone who meant it in a creepy way would say) I just mean like cause you saved me from getting hit so I figure I should pay you back by patronizing your establishment (Patronizing? Really? You sound like an old person in a middle grade fiction novel).” He said trying to ignore the intrusive thoughts that tore apart every stupid word he said. Grace looked at him and smiled.

“Sure, I’ve never been one to turn down a customer. Follow me.” she said walking towards the row of stores on the other side of the mall. Simon followed behind her silently but only because all of his brain power was currently being devoted to trying to remember how to walk.

“Why is walking so hard when you’re nervous? It’s like when you remember that you're breathing and then you stop doing it automatically. Just focus on not tripping and looking like even more of an idiot than you already do.” he thought as he tried to do just that. But once again Simon was so focused on not tripping over his feet that he didn’t even realize what store they’d walked into until Grace started talking to him again.

“One second just got to put on my customer service voice.” she said joking before slipping behind the counter. “Hi, and welcome to Apex Flowers. May our selection be high and your satisfaction higher, how may I help you today?” she said in a voice that was noticeably a bit higher and sweeter sounding. Simon certainly preferred her real voice to her customer service voice but he didn’t have much time to focus on it considering the fact that he was in a flower shop. Aka a pollen factory. 

“Okay Simon, it’s fine, your allergy isn’t that bad you can stay in here for a little without it being too bad.” Simon tried to ignore the fact that his eyes were already watering as he was thinking this and he walked deeper into the store. “Um..I don’t know anything about flowers.” he said honestly. Grace gave him a warm smile that he secretly hoped was just a little friendlier than the normal customer service smile.

“Well that’s fine, flowers have all different types of meanings so depending on who you're buying them for you’ll want different arrangements. So who are you buying them for? A mother, a girlfriend, a sibling…” She offered examples.

“She said girlfriend Simon, this is your opening. Flirt with her. Oh wait, I don’t know how to flirt.” Simon thought. He tried his best to focus on coming up with a good line but it was a bit difficult between the watering eyes, the scratchiness of his throat, and the fact that the room had begun spinning very suspiciously. “You must be an angel because when I’m around you I experience shortness of breath, watering eyes and vertigo.” he said. He would probably beat himself up over that one for weeks but he could hardly focus on the stupidity of the thing he just said because the room. Wouldn’t. Stop. Spinning. Grace laughed. Fuck even her laugh was pretty.

“First of all none of the things you're describing have anything to do with angels. Secondly they sound like the symptoms of a pollen allergy. Are you allergic to pollen?” she asked, still laughing. Simon was about to deny this but found himself very much unable to considering he’d just collapsed onto the ground. Grace looked shocked for a moment before rushing over to him. “Are you okay? Should I call someone?” she said panicking. Simon picked himself up from the ground and held his head. God he had a splitting headache. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine I just…” he trailed off not having anything good to respond with.

“You have a pollen allergy.” Grace said matter of factly. 

“Quick make up an excuse!” Simon’s brain screamed at him. He ignored this and conceded to Grace’s claim. “I have a pollen allergy.” he said defeated.

“Why’d you come into a flower shop if you have a severe pollen allergy?” Grace asked jokingly.

“Because I didn’t realize where we were walking until we were there; because I was focused on not tripping over my own two feet; because being around you makes me forget how to function; because I’m in love with you.” Simon thought to himself before quickly thinking. “Wait no, don't say any of that! She already probably thinks you're insane, don't give her more reason to believe it! Say literally anything else!” Simon’s face was red again and he prayed that she assumed it was due to the pollen. “I felt bad that you saved me and didn’t get anything in return.” was what he said instead of confessing his love to someone he’d known for all of three minutes. Grace chuckled.

“Dude, it was no big deal I swear, and it’s certainly not a big enough deal for you to have an allergic reaction over. Look, why don’t you give me half of your soft pretzel and we’ll call it even.” she said gesturing towards Simon’s hand. He’d honestly completely forgotten he was holding the thing. He nodded and ripped her off a chunk of the pretzel which she happily ate. “Thanks,” she said “I left my lunch at home.” Simon nodded again though his mind was still in panic mode.

“Say something else to her Simon! Call her pretty or something. Don’t just stare at her while she eats, that’s weird, she thinks you're weird!” he thought as he continued silently staring at Grace. Once again she was the one to speak.

“I guess you won’t be requiring anything from this place then.” she said casually.

“No! (Why’d you say no?) I mean uh yes, I uh I’ll buy something from here. (That came out so weird.)” he said, his mind continuing to mock everything that came out of his mouth. Grace looked unsure.

“Really? I mean okay, what do you want.” she asked. Simon’s mind raced once again.

“Okay Simon, this is your chance to impress her. Ask for something really cool. Like a really cool type of flower. Oh wait, I don’t know anything about flowers.” Simon sighed defeated. “I’ll just take a rose.” he said gesturing towards the multicolored roses on the wall behind her.

“Oh those ones aren't for sale.” she explained. “But I can get you a rose from the back.” Simon nodded and Grace went to the back of the store before returning with a very pretty red rose. “I assumed you wanted a red one.” Simon nodded again. As she rang him up in between wiping his still watering eyes he asked her a question.

“Why aren’t those roses for sale? (That sounded rude. You sound like an asshole Simon.)” he asked her. Grace responded casually.

“Oh those are display roses. They’re kind of like my babies. I even gave each of them a name.” Grace began ‘That one’s Louie, that one’s Lucy, that over there is Tyler-” she cut herself off. “Sorry, I’ll go on about them all day if you let me.” she said sheepishly. Simon’s face was on fire.

“She’s pretty, she's funny, and she’s absolutely adorable. And she probably thinks you're a total creep. She definitely never wants to interact with you again.” Simon thought as he took the rose off of the counter. “And what are you even going to do with this thing?” he thought, questioning himself as he left the store. Just before he stepped out however, she called back to him.

“Hey wait, I didn’t get your name.” Grace said. Simon started coughing, both because he was caught off guard and because he’d just inhaled a fuckton of pollen. After his little coughing fit ended he answered her question.

“It’s uh (Why’d you hesitate it’s just your name.) Simon, my name is Simon.” he said quickly internally face palming.

“Well Simon, I hope to see you again soon.” Grace said with a smile. Simon had worked customer service, he knew the customer service smile. That wasn’t it; that smile was genuine. Simon felt his heart race and the room began spinning again for a moment before he grabbed onto the door frame for dear life.

“Don’t pass out in front of her again Simon! Say something back to her!” He screamed at himself. “I hope to see you again too, also.” he stammered out. At that he actually face palmed before running from the store as fast as he possibly could. Honestly that probably didn’t do him any favors in terms of her thinking that he was a weirdo but despite how much he’d beat himself up about it Simon couldn’t help but feel a little good about the interaction. He hadn’t made her hate him, that at least was a start. As Simon stood outside of another store halfway across the mall he stared at the rose in his hand and made a silent pact with himself to keep it alive and find a use for it. Grace was the most amazing person he’d ever met and he’d only talked to her for like fifteen minutes, there was no way he had any hope of a relationship with her. Then again if she’d still found him tolerable at his most utterly embarrassing, maybe, just maybe, he had a chance with her after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: "Simon sees a girl so hot he purposefully induces an allergic reaction."


	2. Chapter 2

When Grace had told Simon she hoped to see him again soon she’d meant it. She just hadn’t expected “soon” to mean the very next day. Or more specifically, right as she was opening the very next day. “This guy is super lucky I that I’m 95% sure I could take him in a fight or else I’d call mall security.” Grace thought to herself upon seeing him standing outside of the Apex flowers at 9:00 am sharp when she opened. As she unlocked the store she began making small talk out of habit. “So, what brings you around this early in the morning?” Grace prodded. Simon looked awkward as they entered the store something she assumed was from the fact that he’d passed out on her yesterday.

“I uh, was here yesterday, you probably don’t remember me…” Simon began. Grace chuckled to herself. 

“He’s clearly unaware of just what an impression he made yesterday.” she silently mused before correcting Simon properly. “Don’t worry, I remember you my pollen adverse friend. You bought a rose from me yesterday after passing out in the store. It was Simon right?” Grace already knew the answer but she’d been taught posing things as questions rather than statements relaxed customers and despite his impression Simon was still a customer. “Though definitely a very interesting customer.” Grace noted to herself. Simon looked genuinely shocked that she’d remembered him which Grace found amusing. “After all, it’s not everyday someone faints trying to buy flowers.” she joked to herself.

“Right, that was me. I’m uh, trying to keep my rose alive but I don’t really know anything about keeping plants alive, and it started wilting and-” Simon was rambling. Grace figured if their previous interaction was anything to go off of he probably wasn’t great at asking for help considering he felt the need to pay her back for simply pulling him out of the way. And the fact that his eyes were all puffy and red probably wasn’t helping matters any.

“You need some help with your rose? Don’t worry I’ve got you.” Grace said before turning around to grab some things for her demonstration. “You know if you're a beginner with flowers and you wanted a suggestion you could have asked. Roses can be a bit finicky for someone with no experience.” she said before turning back to him and placing a pair of scissors, a vase, a pitcher of warm water, and some plant food on the counter along with a cut rose. Simon looked at her nervously.

“Sorry, I just said the first flower that popped into my head.” he admitted. Grace smiled at him but couldn’t help wondering,

“Why does he look so embarrassed about not knowing? Wait, was he trying to impress me?” Grace ignored that thought for a moment deciding that it was just her reading too much into things. “No, he’s trying to keep his flower alive Grace, stop being so narcissistic.” she told herself before beginning with her demonstration. “Alright so here’s what you're going to want to do,” she took the pitcher and poured it into the vase. “You’ll want to fill a vase most of the way with lukewarm water, too hot or too cold and you’ll shock the blooms.” She opened the packet of plant food and dissolved it into the water. “Then you’ll want to add a packet of plant food, specifically the kind meant to be used with cut flowers. I personally recommend the Flower King brand.” she added, showing him the wrapper before grabbing the scissors and the rose. “Lastly, you’ll want to cut the stem. Make sure you do it with something sharp and at a 45 degree angle.” She did just that cutting the stem and placing the rose in the vase. “You should change your water every day or two. Oh and you said it started wilting? Just pluck off the wilting parts to keep it healthy.” Simon stared at her like she was giving him the secret to immortality rather than the secret of keeping roses alive. At that moment it dawned on her that Simon totally could have gotten all of this information off of the internet meaning that he had definitely come here just to see her. Grace had experienced some run-ins with customers flirting with her before and generally she didn’t tolerate it. But perhaps because Simon was so hilariously bad at it or maybe because he did seem genuinely interested in what she was saying Grace couldn’t find it in her to be bothered.

“Thank you! That’s all really useful.” Simon struggled out before sneezing. Grace chuckled and handed him a tissue.

“Here, if you want to keep hanging around you might need this.” she offered. Simon looked genuinely grateful for the tissue and wiped his nose before tossing it in the trash. “How are you holding up with that flower around anyway?” she questioned. “I wonder if he even still has it? If he really is just coming here to talk to me he could have just tossed it.” Grace mused to herself. 

“It’s difficult, but I’ve got a lot of tissues.” Simon said “I put her in my window sill because it gets the most sunlight but it’s also where I study so I now keep a box of tissues on my desk.” he stammered out. Grace curiously raised an eyebrow.

“Her?” she questioned. Now that was an interesting detail. From it she decided that Simon probably had kept the flower which actually did endear her to him as it meant that he was at least in part sincere in his want to keep the plant alive. She also determined that he’d probably named the thing as well.

“Oh, uh well, I called it her because you gave all your roses names and so I decided to name mine and I gave it a name that’s more traditionally female so I just automatically called it a her and I feel like I’m talking a lot so I’m gonna stop.” Simon said all of that in a big awkward jumble of words and Grace couldn’t help but give a little smile at his flusteredness. Trying to ease the tension she took the reigns of the conversation.

“Yeah I named all of the display roses after my kids.” Grace said gesturing towards the multi colored roses lining the wall. Simon looked shocked as he counted the number of roses.

“You have thirty kids?” he said through a coughing fit while looking surprised. Grace let out a real laugh at this. 

“I meant the kids in my dance class.” she answered through her own laughter. “I hope that this guy is as funny on purpose as he is on accident.” Grace said to herself before regarding Simon again. 

“You teach a dance class?” he said though he sneezed in the middle of asking so it came out more awkward then he’d likely intended.

“I major in dance at a performing arts college and one of my necessary classes is to assist with a children’s ballet class. Whenever one of the kids successfully performs a hard move I tell them I’ll name a flower after them and then when they have their performance after the show I’ll give it to them.” Grace smiled thinking about this, she loved kids and she almost never got to talk about her class. Simon looked at her with genuine interest which surprised her a bit. “This guy might just be here because he thinks I’m cute but at least he’s a good listener.” 

“That’s really cool! I’m not all that great with kids so I don’t think I could ever teach them but you seem really passionate about it.” Simon said. Grace wasn’t surprised that her passion for children and teaching them dance came through in her words but she did enjoy having someone recognize it. “You know kids are kind of like flowers, you’ve gotta give them the basic stuff like food and water and that will keep them alive. But for them to grow and thrive you have to give them extra attention and make sure that the negative parts, like the parts of a flower that are wilting, don’t spread and take over.” Simon looked at the ground while he said it and he was blushing again though it was still hard to tell due to the permanent redness of his face as a result of the pollen. “That probably sounded stupid.” he added quietly. Grace shook her head.

“No, that wasn’t stupid. That was actually a pretty profound observation.” she said and meant it. What a nice metaphor to be able to combine her two favorite things, flowers and children. It dawned on Grace that she’d shared a lot of information with this person who she barely knew and she didn’t really have a reason as to why. “Maybe he’s just one of those people who’s weirdly easy to talk to.” she justified to herself before deciding to ask him about his own life. “If over sharing is going to happen I refuse to be the only person doing so.” she thought before turning a question on him. “So what about you, what are you really passionate about?” she questioned. Simon looked awkward, he stuttered and sneezed before answering her question. 

“Well I guess it depends on what you mean by passionate. I like robotics so I major in electrical engineering and I like it so I’m passionate about that but if I didn’t have any obligations in terms of like having to get money to pay for necessities I don’t know if I would just do it for fun. Like, I enjoy writing even though I’ve been told many times that I’m really bad at it but I keep doing it so maybe I’m passionate about that. But clearly I’m not passionate enough about it to get better. And I like making those little replicas like you see in museums but It’s not like a thing I would monetize.” He said. Now it was Grace’s turn to look on with interest. When he noticed she was watching him intently he started stammering and clammed up. “I mean, I don’t even know what I’m talking about. I'm just rambling. I’m probably taking up way too much of your time.” he said. Grace shook her head.

“No, please go on. I’m interested in what you have to say. Besides there won’t be any customers in here for quite a while, so take all the time you want.” She said. Simon wiped the water from his eyes and continued.

“Okay, so you’re passionate about teaching kids right?” Grace nodded. “And you love it so much that you’d still try to be a better teacher even if there wasn’t anything in it for you?” she nodded again. “I don’t think I really have a thing like that you know. I don’t know if there’s any one thing that I’m passionate enough about to want to be the best just because I love it that much.” Grace considered this for a moment. She was surprised at how interested she’d become in listening to Simon speak even if he did have to stop to cough halfway into his sentences and even though he tripped on every other word and couldn’t look her in the eyes. He was interesting.

“Though I guess compared to sitting in an empty store for four hours before any customers show up anything is interesting.” Grace amended. Still, considering Simon’s conclusion about the nature of passion she responded to him the best way she could think to. “Maybe, you just haven’t found that thing yet.” she smiled at him and he darted his eyes anywhere but her trying and failing to hide his obvious blush. Grace heard someone enter the store and Simon moved from her line of sight so that she could see who it was. A smile crossed her face as two familiar faces greeted her, her Aunt Tuba ( her actual first name was very long and Slavic so everyone called her Tuba) and her cousin Hazel. 

“Grace, can you watch Hazel for a little bit? I've got a contract meeting with the mall’s owner and I can’t bring Hazel.” Grace gave a nod and she let out a sigh of relief before turning to address Hazel. “Be good for Grace okay Hazel-horn.” Hazel nodded in response. 

“Okay mommy-Tuba.” she said sweetly before making her way over to Grace’s side. Tuba rushed off to her meeting and Hazel climbed behind the counter with Grace. “Wow your face is super red! Are you dying?” the little girl asked Simon who’d managed to become even redder in the time since she’d asked him the question. 

“No, I’ve uh, just got a cold, anyway um can I buy some of that plant food and also some…” he looked around nervously at all of the flowers and pointed to some randomly “some of those.” Grace turned to see where he was pointing. 

“The chrysanthemums?” she questioned. He nodded awkwardly. Grace began packing up the flowers and plant food while Hazel continued talking to Simon.

“My mom works at another store in the mall except she came up with the idea for the store all on her own, so I get to help her run it. Do you work at the mall?” Simon shook his head and paid for his items as Hazel continued. “You should, it’s really fun! And then you could get benefits so you could go to the doctor and get medicine for your cold.” Simon looked at her surprised.

“What do you know about benefits?” he asked curiously.

“I know a lot about everything, right Grace?” Hazel responded. Grace chuckled and ruffled Hazel’s hair.

“Hazel is a very interesting child. She thinks she’s a genius.” Grace said jokingly

“I am a genius!” Hazel responded indignantly. Simon smiled at the two of them, they had an adorable back and forth. 

“Have a nice day.” Simon stuttered out before leaving. Grace began cleaning off the store counter in preparation for the rest of the day's customers. 

“That guy was weird. Are you friends with him?” Hazel asked. Grace paused at the question, the obvious answer was no, that he was just a customer. 

“And yet,” Grace thought to herself before giving Hazel an answer. “Yeah, a little bit.” Hazel lit up and smiled.

“Then I’m friends with him too.” Hazel said, determined. Grace wasn’t sure why she’d told Hazel that she and Simon were friends despite only having talked to him a few times, but as she thought back to their conversation she decided that the reason was because Simon was good company even if he was always incredibly flustered around her. Looking over at the clock Grace noticed that she and Simon’s interaction had actually gone on much longer than she’d thought and she silently hoped he’d continue keeping her company in his own incredibly awkward way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: "Simon is only allowed to stay because Grace knows she could kick his ass."


	3. Chapter 3

Simon hadn’t wanted to go into the Apex Flowers. After all he’d been in the flower shop everyday that week and every day he’d gone home with more flowers. At this point his room was starting to become practically uninhabitable. He had absolutely no intention of walking into the store again for the seventh day in a row. But then he’d seen Grace from outside of the store. She’d been talking to Hazel, the little girl who he’d learned was her cousin, while putting a pot on a high shelf. And Simon hadn’t meant to pay such close attention but he had and so he saw that the stool she was standing on was wobbling. It all happened so fast after that, she’d slipped, and though he probably shouldn’t have Simon panicked. And so even though he’d promised himself that he wasn’t going to go into the store for the seventh day in a row Simon ran in and caught her before she hit the ground. And now she was staring at him. “Shit Simon she’s looking at you, which makes sense because you just ran in out of nowhere and caught her but you can’t just keep holding onto her and staring at her you have to say something.” Simon’s mind was racing as he awkwardly stared at Grace after catching her. “Uh, um, hi.” was all he could manage. Grace stood herself up fully and gave him a smile.

“Nice catch.” she said. “You're pretty quick on your feet, maybe you missed your calling as a dancer.” she joked. Simon’s face was utterly red and he hoped that it wasn’t as noticeable as it felt.

“Wow, you’re all red again. I guess you didn’t get those benefits.” Hazel said from across the store. Grace giggled at that comment before walking back over to Hazel and standing behind the counter.

“Well fuck Simon, what are you going to do now? Should I leave, no- that would be weird. It would be weird to just walk into a store to catch someone and then leave. I should say something.” Simon took a deep breath to garner confidence before remembering that he was in a flower store and then promptly sneezing really loudly. Grace grabbed something from behind the counter and offered it.

“Tissue?” she said. Simon nodded and took it, blowing his nose before throwing it in the trash.

“Thank you.” Simon replied gratefully.

“Don’t mention it, it’s the least I could do to repay the guy who just saved my life.” she said humorously before winking at him. Simon felt his soul leave his body.

“Okay Simon, she’s joking with you. Joke back, say something flirty. Don’t stand there like an idiot, say something to her!” He yelled at himself internally. “You saved my life first so you don’t have to repay me.” was the only thing he could manage to say. Hazel looked impressed.

“Grace, you didn’t tell me you saved this guy's life!” Hazel said excitedly. Grace shook her head.

“Hazel I didn’t actually save his life, he’s just describing it as more dramatic then it happened.” she corrected. Hazel looked annoyed.

“I know about hyperbole Grace, I’m six not two.” Hazel said indignantly. 

“Well excuse me then.” Grace responded before an alarm went off on her phone. Grace looked frustrated. “Shit, I forgot about that.” she muttered before turning to Hazel. “Don’t repeat that.” Hazel shook her head.

“Too late, It's already in my brain.” she asserted. Grace turned to Simon who’d been awkwardly standing there utterly unable to come up with something to say.

“Can you do me a huge favor and-” she started

“Yes, anything.” Simon said quickly before realizing that he’d cut her off. “Yes anything? What the fuck is wrong with you Simon you sound like the most desperate person on planet earth.” he thought while internally cringing. Grace raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t even say what the favor was- you know what I don’t even have time to unpack that, can you watch Hazel for like five minutes?” she asked desperately. Internally Simon panicked.

“I can’t be trusted with a child! I can barely keep plants alive! Whatever she has to do must be really important if she’s actually considering leaving this kid with me. Okay, calm down Simon it’s only five minutes, you can watch one little girl for five minutes. You can do this for her.” He mentally convinced himself. “I’ll do it.” he said nodding.

“Thank you so much! I know it’s probably not ideal to leave her with you, but leaving her alone would be exponentially worse.” from the tone of Grace’s voice Simon could tell that it had happened before and gone awfully. “Hazel I’m going to be gone for five minutes. Be safe, don’t touch anything, don’t leave the store.” Hazel nodded.

“Okay Grace.” she responded as Grace ran out of the store off to whatever super important thing that she had to do. Hazel eyed Simon up and down before nodding to herself as if she’d just come to a conclusion. Simon didn’t have to wait to find out what that conclusion was as Hazel offered it up herself. “You’re weird.” she said. Simon nodded

“Yeah, I know, kid.” Simon responded. Even children could tell that he was a complete and utter mess. It would have been sad if it wasn’t also utterly hilarious. “So, you’re Grace’s cousin?” He asked. Hazel nodded.

“Mmhm. My mommy-Tuba was married to Grace’s uncle so that makes her Grace’s aunt. And then she adopted me so that makes me and Grace cousins.” Hazel said assuredly. “Grace is the best cousin in the world! She grows me pretty flowers and teaches me how to dance.” Simon listened to the child. She seemed content with having a wholly one sided conversation and he wasn’t going to stop her. “I’m six and a half by the way, but my teachers say that I’m smart enough to be in the classes with the eight year olds because I know everything. How old are you?” Hazel asked, seemingly remembering in that moment that she was talking to another person.

“Me? I’m twenty-one.” Simon answered. Hazel looked amazed.

“That’s the same age as Grace! You two are both old people!” Simon chuckled at this, getting called old was something that was usually only reserved for his own brain and Hazel’s utter insistence about it was funny. “Speaking of Grace,” Hazel looked around the room as if to ensure she wasn’t being listened to, “You’re in love with her right?” Simon started coughing as he choked on the pollen and his own surprise. “Oh my gosh are you going to die?” Hazel asked, sounding genuinely concerned. Simon shook his head and stopped coughing.

“No, I’m going to be fine, why do you think I’m in love with her?” Simon asked. Hazel laughed.

“Because it’s obvious.” she said. Simon internally panicked.

“If it’s so obvious that even a child has noticed it then Grace obviously knows that you’ve got a crush on her! She probably thinks you're a stalker or something! Fuck, you can never step foot in this store again!” he thought, panicked. 

“Wow, you’re all red again!” Hazel said, entertained. “Anyway, I know because when Grace was talking on the phone about you to my mommy-Tuba I asked her why would you go see Grace everyday if it made you sick, and she said it was because you’re in love with her. And I know it’s the truth because my mommy-Tuba knows everything.” Hazel said proudly beaming. Simon shook his head.

“I thought you knew everything?” Simon said, hoping to change the subject. Hazel nodded.

“I do, but my mommy-Tuba knows more than everything.” she responded.

“Why do you call her your mommy-Tuba?” Simon asked. Hazel lit up clearly excited to explain her thought process.

“Well, Grace said that she called her Aunt Tuba because she’s her aunt and when Grace was little she couldn’t say her first name, but it sounded like Tuba, so that’s what Grace called her. So I just called her Tuba at first. But that didn’t feel right because Grace put who she was to her before the name Tuba and she’s my mommy so I put that in front and now she’s my mommy-Tuba. And I’m her Hazel-horn.” Hazel said happily. Simon nodded, that was a lot of information just to answer a relatively simple question but he’d asked it. Hazel however wasn’t done sharing and continued on. “Also, it makes sense to call her mommy-Tuba because she sells instruments in the mall at her own store.” Hazel explained. Simon nodded again.

“Did she create the store?” Simon asked just glad that they were off the subject of his feelings for Grace.

“Yeah, she came up with the idea with Grace’s uncle, but she didn’t make it until after he died.” Hazel said casually. Simon looked taken aback.

“Do kids really just talk about stuff like death with no hesitation?” Simon wondered.

“Mommy-Tuba says that he was really nice so I wish I could have met him and their kids before they died.” she continued. Simon looked dumbstruck.

“Holy shit why is this child telling me all of this? Is this just something she talks about normally?” Simon mentally questioned. “That sounds really sad.” he responded to her. Hazel nodded.

“It is, but me and mommy-Tuba have each other now. So she doesn’t really get that sad anymore.” she concluded. Shortly after Hazel finished her sentence Grace returned to the store.

“Was everything okay? Were there any customers.” she asked Hazel as she returned to her place behind the counter.

“Yes to everything being okay, no to there being any customers.” Hazel answered. Grace smiled at the girl.

“You didn’t give Simon any trouble did you?” she asked. Hazel shook her head incredulously.

“I would never do such a thing. We’re friends now, right Simon?” the little girl asked him. Both Hazel and Grace looked at him expectantly. Simon’s mind raced.

“What the hell am I supposed to say to that? Yeah she told me about her mom’s dead family so we’re besties? I don’t understand children!” he thought before answering. “Yeah, we really bonded in those five minutes.” Hazel laughed at his comment and Grace smiled approvingly. 

“Well it sounds like the two of you had a better time than me, I had a meeting with Amelia.” Grace said. Simon looked confused and Grace continued. “Amelia is my boss, she’s a mean old British lady who hates kids and also everything good in the world.” Hazel laughed.

“I think Amelia is a witch who’s just pretending to be a flower shop owner so she can learn about humans.” Hazel said deadly serious.

“Oh she’s a witch all right.” Grace muttered under her breath. “But she’s also the person keeping me employed so it’s best not to step on her toes.” she added.

“Okay Simon, you’re doing that thing where you stand in silence for a weirdly long time while other people have a conversation. You need to actually say things Simon! Make a relevant and witty comment in regards to her boss.” Simon thought to himself before sneezing really loudly. Grace offered him another tissue which he promptly used. “Your meeting was really short.” was all he could come up with. “Your meeting was really short? Really Simon! That was probably the stupidest thing you could have said! How do you always find a way to fuck up even the most mundane interactions.” he yelled at himself before Grace responded

“Yeah, Amelia doesn’t like to waste time as she puts it, so meetings mostly consist of her explaining everything I’m doing wrong and then sending me back to work.” Grace explained. “Personally I think that she’s just bitter that she has to answer to the mall’s owner.” she added casually. Grace shook herself out of that thought and changed the subject. “Here I am forcing you to listen to me talk about mall politics and meanwhile I haven’t even asked you about how your flowers are doing.” Grace noted.

“Oh, they're doing really good actually, I’ve been doing all the stuff you showed for each type so they’re all still alive and are doing nicely.” he responded caught off guard.

“You’ve got quite a few now, do you have anything planned for all of them?” she asked. Simon’s mind raced as he struggled to come up with a response.

“I can’t just tell her no, actually, I only have a million of them because whenever I see you I go into panic mode and buy flowers so I don’t make it painfully obvious I’m only loitering in this store to talk to you! I have to come up with something!” he told himself as he racked his brain for an answer. “Yes! I have something planned! It’s really big! And cool! And I’ll totally show you when it’s done!” Simon choked out giving the vaguest answer possible in a panic. Grace either didn’t register his panic or did and chose not to respond to it to save his pride. Knowing his luck it was almost definitely the second.

“That sounds really interesting, I can’t wait to see it.” she responded smiling.

“Can I see it too?” Hazel asked excited

“Of course! Everyone can see this fake thing I just totally made up so that I wouldn’t have to admit I’m turning my room into a miniature garden for a girl I’ve never talked to outside of her work hours. We can all gather around and view it as a shrine to my stupidity!” Simon thought to himself. “Yeah, of course I’ll show it to you when it’s done!” Simon said with more panic than he’d intended. “Also to make it I’ll need,” Simon pointed at a random bunch of flowers “Some of those! That’s why I came in here, for that reason and that reason only!” he spat out. Grace looked to where he was pointing.

“Pincushion flowers? Good choice. I’m really excited to see what you do with this project you’re working on.” she said as she wrapped up the flowers for purchase.

“You and me both.” Simon thought as he paid for more flowers that he’d bought in a panic. 

“Have a nice day!” Hazel called out behind him as he left the store. Simon stared down at the flowers in his arms.

“What the hell have I gotten myself into? I have no idea what I’m going to do with all of these flowers.” he thought to himself. Then again, Grace had complimented him on the flowers he’d chosen so maybe he was on the right track at least in regards to flower type. He looked at his impulse purchase again. Maybe he had no idea what he was doing, and maybe he was only doing this because Grace was so incredibly attractive he lost all common sense when speaking to her. But he was Simon Laurent, and he’d promised Grace (and Hazel) something big and cool, and dammit somehow he was going to deliver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Title: Simon has a very morbid conversation with a kindergartner


	4. Chapter 4

Grace looked at the clock and smiled, it was almost closing. Grace loved her job and deeply enjoyed running the shop and all that entailed. But today she had something to do after work and she’d been anxious to get to it all day. She’d been so excited to get her shift over all day that she’d accidentally been a little short with some customers and though she’d apologized she had no doubt she’d be hearing from Amelia about that one. She’d even been a little cold to Simon, who as of today had officially shown up everyday for three weeks in a row without fail. She did feel a little bad about that one considering how nervous he was around her in general but she really couldn’t help it. Today was the day of her group's recital and she was so excited to see her kids perform and to give them all their flowers. “Speaking of which.” Grace began packing all of the display roses up for transportation but considering how many of them there were she knew this was a two person job. She heard someone enter the shop and turned around to see her aunt greeting her.

“Need some help with that?” she questioned

“Please.” Grace said. Tuba happily helped her get the rest of the display roses down and packed for distribution to her dance class. Grace attempted to grab the box but Tuba took it for her which Grace was thankful for. She could carry it but her aunt was much stronger than her. “Probably because of all of those heavy instruments she carries around the store.” Grace silently thought. The two didn’t talk much as they carried the box out to the parking lot, Tuba never was much for conversation. “Usually Hazel is the one who fills all the dead air. Speaking of which,” Grace mused. “Hey, where’s Hazel?” her aunt could never stand to be separated from her daughter for too long which was definitely fair considering the tragic circumstances surrounding her children before Hazel.

“She’s in the car. I told her to wait because you know if she gets brought inside she’ll want a snack.” Tuba said in her trademark calming voice.

“Knowing Hazel I’m sure she’ll still find a way to con herself into a snack anyway.” Grace said They walked into the parking lot, saw Tuba’s car and began to move past it only to find that there was now a new person in their group.

“Hazel! Why did you get out of the car?” Tuba asked in a voice somewhere between frustrated and amused. Hazel tried to look innocent.

“Because I saw you and wanted to spend time with you.” she said. Tuba looked at her in a way that indicated she knew that wasn’t the answer. “Okay fine I wanted a cinnamon roll from the mall.” she admitted. Grace could only laugh internally.

“Leave it to Hazel to somehow be the smartest and most ridiculous child of all time.” she thought as Tuba responded to her.

“You're not getting one.” she said matter of factly

“Fine, but I’m still walking with you. What’s in the box?” she asked as the three traversed the parking lot to Grace’s car.

“Flowers for my dance class, today is their recital.” she explained. Hazel lit up.

“Did you invite Simon?” she asked. Grace looked at her confused.

“No, why would I do that?” she asked “I swear if Simon has indoctrinated my cousin we’re going to have a problem.” Hazel gave her a playful look.

“Because you like him.” she responded happily. Grace faked indignation.

“I hope you mean as a friend.” she offered as the three stopped in front of her car and Grace opened the trunk. Hazel shook her head.

“Nope.” Hazel said. Tuba snickered behind her as she put the box in Grace’s trunk. Grace looked at her for help.

“Are you not going to stop her?” Grace asked jokingly. Tuba's look became sympathetic.

“Hazel, don’t tease your cousin, if someone says they don’t like someone you should believe them.” she told her daughter. Grace looked smug at the child, a feeling which would only last about as long as it took her aunt to amend her statement. “However,” Grace looked horrified.

“You can’t really be about to justify Hazel thinking that I like the dork who comes into the store everyday and uses all of my tissues.” she said

“Of course not, I’m just saying that if what Hazel has told me about your interactions is anything to go off of it might, maybe, seem like you like him.” Tuba said, clearly poking fun at her niece. Grace rolled her eyes.

“So you just believe Hazel’s account of things? She thinks my boss is a witch. How can her judgement be trusted?” Grace questioned.

“Your boss is a witch.” Tuba and Hazel said simultaneously.

“Okay fine bad example.” Grace conceded. Hazel jokingly stuck out her tongue.

“Besides I’m not basing my judgement on just Hazel’s account.” Tuba said jokingly. Grace did her best to look annoyed.

“So what, your saying that I’ve given you reason to believe I like him above the level of a regular customer.” Grace asked.

“All I’m saying is that you talk about this guy really often and fondly for a customer who you befriended three weeks ago is all.” Tuba pointed out.

“I hate that she’s right.” Grace thought to herself. “You know if I wanted to spend time with people who assumed I was romantically interested in every human male I interacted with I’d call my parents.” she shot back jokingly.

“But you are romantically interested in him so it’s okay.” Hazel said happily.

“I have to go to the recital.” Grace said shutting down the conversation. Hazel laughed as her and Tuba walked away. “She knows she won that interaction.” Grace thought as she hopped into the front seat and headed for the children’s recital.

The performance went relatively smoothly and though there was an incident with stage fright in some of the kids, Grace, with the help of her lead teacher, was able to get everyone on stage. Grace’s favorite part however had definitely been giving the kids the flowers. Each of the roses had been wrapped in their own little plastic shell with a bow and the name of each child written in cursive. Simon had actually helped her with it. Well help was probably an over statement, he mostly stood there sneezing and keeping her company while she had done the work but Grace had appreciated it nonetheless. On her drive back home for some reason Grace felt the urge to call Simon and tell him about it.

“Why do I want to call him?” Grace questioned herself. She was dumbfounded as to why she wanted to tell Simon of all people, someone who she’d written off as just a friendly acquaintance about her day but she put it out of her mind. “Even if I wanted to it's not like I have his number.” She reminded herself before deciding to forget she’d ever thought of it. Despite her vehement rejection of the idea when it had been posed by her cousin and aunt Grace still couldn’t seem to stop thinking about their conversation. “What does Hazel know, she’s six. I only humor Simon because he’s a good customer and listens to me ramble on without complaint.” Grace thought to herself as she drove to work the next morning. “I mean yeah I kind of wanted to call him after the recital to tell him about how my day was but that was just because I was bored.” She told herself as she parked her car. “Besides even if I did view him as anything outside of a friendly acquaintance, which I don’t, I wouldn’t actually do anything about it.” she decided as she opened the shop for the day and settled into her usual spot behind the counter. When the first hour had passed Grace hadn’t noticed. When the second had Grace was confused. When the third went by Grace was a bit nervous. By the time the fourth hour of the store being open went by with no sign of Simon Grace was legitimately worried even if she’d never admit it. After all Simon had been shown up at around the same time for the past three weeks. He was often there before she was. So for him to not be there at all was, concerning to say the least. “Calm down Grace,” she told herself “He only came here to flirt with you, he probably realized it wasn’t working and gave up, he’s fine, stop being so worried.” she tried to convince herself. Grace hated that she cared so much about this as it was really making it difficult to convince herself of the whole, “he’s just a good customer who you’re friendly with” thing. And so she stood there behind the counter and silently wished that Simon would come and keep her company even though she knew she probably shouldn’t have. And as if on cue, her wish was granted.

“Hi, I, uh, sorry I’m late I just, give me a minute.” Simon said utterly out of breath indicating to Grace that he’d definitely run here. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in despite herself. Simon was an awkward dork and seeing him utterly out of breath after apologizing for ‘being late’ Grace was reminded that she definitely did not have any romantic feelings for him despite what her intrusive thoughts and certain family members might have claimed.

“You say you were late like you work here.” Grace noted jokingly. Simon blushed after catching his breath.

“I just meant, you know, I was late to keep you company. I know I don’t have any obligation to be here or anything, and I feel like I’m talking a lot again, should I leave? I’m going to leave.” he said quickly and obviously panicked before turning around to exit the store. Grace didn’t mean to say the thing she said next, it was a completely involuntary reaction due to being presented with the prospect of having to spend the rest of her shift bored out of mind. Or at least that’s how she’d justify it to herself later.

“Wait,” she said. Simon turned around and looked at her surprised and Grace stared back at him. “You should stay, I haven’t even asked you about your project yet.” Simon looked really embarrassed and incredibly red. Grace knew that he didn’t really have anything planned for a project or at least she was pretty sure he didn’t, but the incredibly vague and over hyped details he gave about his supposed work in progress entertained her.

“Oh, uh, it’s going good. I actually have made a lot of progress on it and it will definitely be done really soon!” he said without thinking. Grace smiled, if she knew anything about Simon it was that he knew how to dig himself a hole. “How was the recital?” he asked, clearly wanting to change the subject.

“It went really good, thanks for asking.” she said smiling “The flowers were a huge hit, thanks for your help.” Simon looked away sheepishly.

“Oh, I mean I didn’t really do anything except stand there and use up all of your tissues.” Simon said. Grace shook her head.

“You kept me company while I did it and that’s pretty helpful in my book.” Simon smiled.

“Are you the only person that works here? I mean like I don’t mean in a weird way I just mean because you're the only person I ever see working in the store.” he clarified. Grace chuckled.

“Two teenagers technically work here but they almost never show up so I always cover for them.” Grace explained. Simon looked surprised.

“Why?” he asked. Grace shrugged.

“Why not? Everyone wants to both have money and to slack off so I simply allow for that to happen.” Simon raised an eyebrow at her. “Plus they give me a pretty hefty cut of their paychecks in addition to over time so…” she said trailing off. Simon laughed at this. “He’s got kind of a nice laugh.” Grace mused to herself “Pretty eyes too. Wait a minute, do I like this guy? I do don’t I? Hazel is never going to let me live it down if she finds out.” Grace thought to herself. Simon sneezed and Grace handed him a tissue. “Luckily for me Hazel will never know.” she mentally concluded. “So, what were you doing instead of keeping me company?” Grace asked casually. Simon looked nervous.

“Oh, it was boring. Just stuff for my coding class.” he said awkwardly. Grace smiled.

“I still want to know. It’s okay if it’s a little boring.” Grace said. Simon looked taken aback by the offer.

“Trust me I will totally go on for way too long and be super embarrassingly into it and no one wants to see that.” Simon said assuredly.

“Trust me, I still want to know.” Grace answered. Simon took a deep breath and smiled before going on a very serious rant.

“Okay so basically, I was working on some code in class right? But I noticed a bug so I thought, I can fix this, you know, like I’ve been taking this class I know how to do a minor bug fix. I did not. I tried to fix it and broke everything. So I did my best to correct the massive mistake I had made, but I got so into it that by the time I got the code back into a semi-workable state class had been over for quite a while. And then I realized that I hadn’t seen you-“ he cut himself off and rephrased his words “I mean I hadn’t gotten the things I needed for my project from you. So I ran out to my car and it didn’t have any gas in it and so I had to walk all the way to the gas station and back to fill it up. And then I finally got in my car and drove over here but by that time the store had been open for hours and I was nervous that you wouldn’t want -“ he cut himself off once again “I was nervous that you would be all sold out of what I needed for my project, so I ran here.” He finished. Grace laughed, unable to stop herself from being interested by his story, all the while knowing that despite her desperate attempts to fight it, she couldn’t really stop herself from being interested in Simon either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative title: "Shit he's endearing"


	5. Chapter 5

Simon Laruant was an idiot. Or at least that’s what his mind kept telling him as he stared at his room full of flowers that he had no idea what he was going to do with. He sat at his desk staring at his laptop and copious crumpled up tissues and decided that this was as good a time as any for a break. He had a million assignments due that he’d have loved to complete but unfortunately it was nearly impossible to focus when your eyes are constantly watering. Simon walked to the kitchen of his shared apartment and mentally complained to himself. “Stupid work I haven’t done, stupid plants I don’t have a use for, stupid me getting me into this mess.” Simon opened the fridge and looked for his leftovers only to find them completely inedible. One of his roommates must have pushed them to the back of the thing and seeing as the fridge was shitty and old the back of the fridge was way too cold aka where food went to die. He looked at his now frozen food, tossed it in the trash and added another to his mental list of complaints. “Stupid fridge, freezing my food.” Although he was complaining Simon knew that he was just being pedantic. All of the things he’d listed weren’t really worth complaining about. Yes he had work he hadn’t done but that wasn’t new. He always put off work until the last second but he always got it done on time. And yes having his own room essentially become a Saw-like torture trap designed to suffocate him sucked but having the flowers in his room had been his idea. In fact his roommates had asked him if he’d put them in the front room but he knew his room got more light so he’d declined. And yeah he would have preferred to not have his leftovers frozen solid but there was other food he could eat. The only thing really worth complaining about was himself. After all he was the source of basically all of his problems. “Once again I’m reminded that the worst enemy in the life of Simon Laruent is none other than Simon Laruent.” he thought. At that moment his phone rang and Simon grabbed it from his pocket and answered.

“Simon, quick I need an answer to my crossword puzzle!” the voice on the other end said.

“Mom? Why are you calling me for this? And why does it have to be quick, it’s a crossword puzzle it’s not going anywhere.” He pointed out

“I’m calling you for this because you always have the answers to my crossword puzzles.” she explained

“No I don’t, I look the answers up on the internet and then give them to you which is a thing you can do without calling me.” he responded. He could hear his mother sigh sadly on the other line, he knew where this was going.

“Well, I’m sorry. It’s just that you're my only child and you’ve moved halfway across the country and your father is gone so often I guess I just got lonely. I won’t bother you anymore.” she said in her most sad and soft voice. Mentally Simon groaned, he was never able to defeat the power of a guilt trip.

“What’s the question mom?” he asked defeated

“What is the eight letter name for the genus of flower with flat clustered blooms and typically a pink color?” she asked. Simon responded quickly.

“It’s dianthus, can I go now mom?” he asked. However his mother had noted the speed with which he answered and now had questions.

“You knew that off the top of your head?” She asked 

“Yes I’ve taken up flowers as a hobby now I have some really urgent work to do mom so I have to-” he was cut off by his mom becoming even more interested.

“Flowers? I could never picture you with that hobby. Unless... is there a girl!” she asked excitedly.

“How the hell am I supposed to answer that?” Simon thought. “Why yes mom there is a girl, I stalk her at her job and have been flaring up my pollen allergy by filling my room with flowers I currently have no use for!” he thought, mocking his predicament. “No mom, there is no girl.” he responded.

“But you have a pollen allergy, you wouldn’t just take up gardening and trigger it for no reason.” his mother seemed thoughtful for a moment. “Is it a guy Simon because you know me and your father will always support you and-” Simon cut her off immediately

“Oh my god mom, if I say that there's a girl will you leave me alone?” he asked, desperate to end the conversation.

“Perhaps.” his mother said slyly. Simon rolled his eyes.

“There’s a girl.” he said as dryly as possible. His mother let out a loud squeal.

“I’m so happy, I can’t wait to tell your father you’ve got to tell us all about her the next time you see us.” she said excitedly. “Which reminds me you don’t visit enough.” his mother added.

“Goodbye mom.” Simon said before hanging up the phone. “Welp I have somehow managed to dig myself into an even deeper hole than I was in before. Great job Simon you're on an undefeated streak of ruining your own life.” he thought before going back to his room. He stared at the flowers he’d accumulated. Pincushions, lilies, snapdragons, dianthus and chrysanthemums had absolutely taken over what was once his happy place. He looked over to his window sill and saw the rose that had marked the first time he’d met Grace. Secretly he’d named the rose after her though he did his best not to think about how absolutely creepy that it probably was. Armed with a box of tissues and an iron will Simon did the watering for his flowers through congestion and watering eyes. Once finished he sat back down to his computer determined to finally begin working but this determination quickly crumbled when he remembered he still owed Grace (and Hazel) that super cool amazing project that he was definitely working on. So, rather than work he began googling things like “cool things to do with flowers” and “Interesting uses for flowers.” “I feel like I’m writing a listicle.” he said to no one. Unfortunately for Simon his search had turned up fruitless and he still had absolutely no idea how he was going to come up with something that would be impressive. He knew that Grace’s shift would end in a few hours and he still hadn’t seen her but he refused to go see her again empty handed. So he called the only person he could think of that might have a useful answer even if it was the last person he wanted to call. Taking a deep breath Simon dialed his mother.

“Your call was perfectly timed. I was just about to call you, I wanted to know if you had any pictures of this girl. Your father and I are so happy considering you never bring anyone home to us-” she began.

“Mom, I need some advice.” Simon said. He could practically hear his mother foaming at the mouth in response to the invitation to give her input into Simon’s life.

“What is it?” she asked excitedly

“I want to do something nice for her, involving all of these flowers I have, do you have any suggestions?” he asked, already regretting calling her.

“Why don’t you make her a bouquet?” his mother suggested.

“Really? But that’s so plain.” he said. 

“Simon, sometimes the nicest gestures aren’t ones that are super fancy, but ones that come from the heart. So if you put your heart into making the bouquet I’m sure she’ll love it.” Simon considered this for a moment. He’d promised to deliver something big and grand but maybe his mother was right. 

“Thanks mom, I think I'm going to take your advice.” he said. His mother was likely going to celebrate the accomplishment of getting Simon to listen to her for the rest of her life. 

“Anytime. Now about those pictures-” she began

“What was that? Sorry I can’t hear you you’re breaking up.” he said before ending the call. Simon had no idea about constructing a bouquet but that was what the internet was for. And luckily for him Grace hadn’t been kidding when she’d complimented him on his flower choice, the flowers he’d chosen paired quite well together. He decided on doing a gradient style with the larger, pink flowers surrounding the others with the colors becoming a darker red until in the center he placed the rose, the first flower he’d ever gotten from her. The plan looked good from the outset so Simons set out to the store to purchase some tissue paper, ribbon, and plastic wrapping to contain his work. As he was making his way through the store he also grabbed some Zyrtec, he knew this was likely going to be a very allergy heavy afternoon. After purchasing his items, he got back to his room as fast as he could to make his present a reality. It took longer than it likely should have due to Simon having to leave the room constantly due to his pollen induced headaches but eventually he’d done it. It wasn’t very big, or incredibly impressive but it meant something. He was proud of it and he hoped Grace would like it as well. He took another look at the bouquet and noticed that he hadn’t written anything on the little paper card that came attached to the ribbon. Simon sat and wracked his brain for something funny and romantic to write down on it but couldn’t come up with anything. “Oh well, I’ll tell her anything that comes to mind when I give it to her.” Simon checked the time, a few hours before the close of the mall and in addition the end of Grace’s shift. He took the bouquet and headed off to the mall both nervous and excited to finally share the use he’d found for his flowers with the girl who’d caused him to have the flowers in the first place. As he entered the mall he silently thought about what he’d say to Grace when he gave them to her. Maybe he’d even have the guts to ask her out afterwards. The nervous churning of his stomach told Simon that probably wasn’t going to happen but who knew. As he approached the store however Simon was surprised by the distinct lack of Grace. Rather than her, a teenage girl with a very short hair cut manned the counter. Her look of boredom and disinterest was obvious as a confused Simon walked into the store. “Um, is Grace here.” he asked. The girl gave him a look of sadness and dismay.

“Dude, Grace has been dead for three years. You have to let her go.” The girl whose name tag read Lake said. She stared at Simon with an utter seriousness and pity in her eyes that made him almost believe her. From behind her in the greenhouse a voice yelled,

“Stop teasing the customers Lake!” and from out of the greenhouse walked a teenage boy.

“I’m not teasing him I’m responding to a stupid question with an equally stupid answer.” Lake said, defending herself before turning back to Simon. The boy shook his head.

“I’m sorry about Lake, she can be a little prickly, I’m Jesse how can I help you?” he asked.

“I’m looking for Grace, she works here.” he offered.

“Grace Monroe? She’s off sick today.” Jesse explained. Lake shot him an annoyed look.

“Dude! Why would you just give this rando info about Grace? What if he’s a stalker trying to gather knowledge about her and then murder her or something.” She posited. Simon already felt enough like a stalker without this person he’d just met deciding he was one from appearance alone though that certainly didn’t help matters.

“Me and Grace are friends.” Simon said “Do you really believe that Simon, you know nothing about her and you think you can just claim you’re friends? Everyone knows that you’re a stalker and you think you deciding that the two of you are friends changes that?” he thought. Lake rolled her eyes.

“If you’re friends, why didn’t you just call her instead of coming to where she works to find out about her location.” she asked. Simon had no response. Jesse looked sympathetic.

“Look, we can’t tell you anything about Grace but if you want I can give her a message for you.” Jesse offered. Simon looked sheepish.

“Could you give her this for me?” he asked, gesturing to the bouquet.

“That’s really nice arrangement work, are you sure you don’t want a job here?” he asked jokingly. Simon shook his head. “Anyway sure, I’d be happy to give Grace the flowers.” Jesse held out his hands for them but Simon had to do something first.

“Do you have a pen?” he asked. Lake tossed one at him, still giving him an untrusting look. Simon quickly scribbled down something on the paper card and handed the flowers to Jesse. “Thank you.” he said

“No problem.” Jesse responded as Simon walked out of the store. Honestly, a more cynical part of himself thought that maybe the flowers would be thrown away and that the offer to take them to Grace had only been given to get him out of the store. But even with that thought looming over him Simon couldn’t help but smile. He was sure Grace would like the flowers and even if she never saw them he could at least take comfort in the fact that he’d tried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: Simon gets bullied by his brain, his mom, and a teenage girl


	6. Chapter 6

Grace felt like shit. Her stomach gurgled at her in anger and she did her best to walk to the bathroom to prepare for the evacuation of her stomach chamber that she knew was coming. Grace had the stomach flu because of course she did. Turns out that at least one of the kids in her dance class who had complained of stomach trouble before the recital hadn’t just been talking about stage fright and as Grace knelt hunched over the toilet she wished that she was dead. “This is my life now.” Grace thought as she laid on the bathroom floor. “I will stay here for the rest of my life puking my guts out and wishing I was dead.” Grace knew this wasn’t true but it felt true in the moment. Really this would likely be over by tomorrow morning and she’d go back to work but as her stomach worked against her attempts to keep food in it this did feel like her new reality. Tentatively, Grace pulled her tired sweat covered body from the porcelain floor of the bathroom and dragged herself to the kitchen for a glass of water. As she walked she wished desperately that she’d stayed on the cool tile floor, but she needed to re-hydrate. As Grace poured herself a glass from the large jug of water in the fridge she wished that she had roommates. Someone to bring her water while she writhed on the floor in agony rather than having to get up and do it herself. Then again based on what she’d heard about roommates it was likely that she would have still had to get the water herself anyway. “I amend my wish,” Grace thought to herself. “I wish I had friends.” Grace ignored the little intrusive part of her brain that wanted to add “Or a boyfriend.” as she gulped down the glass of water. She felt like absolute garbage right now and the last thing she wanted to think about was a boyfriend because that meant she’d have to think about Simon and thinking about Simon these days always seemed to lead to wishing she had Simon’s number so she could call him and she wasn’t thinking about that right now. Grace poured herself another glass of water before putting the jug back in the fridge. As she chugged it down and put her cup back in the sink she looked around her apartment and felt a pang of guilt. She really didn’t deserve it but her parents had insisted that they get her an apartment to herself.

“How can one be creative if she does not have a creative space to herself.” her mother had said. Grace figured she probably should just let them have it considering how they’d flipped when she’d taken a job at the shop all those years ago. She was seventeen and in no way strapped for cash but she’d wanted to work and Tuba had put in a good word for her.

“I guess I’m okay with a little nepotism.” Grace thought to herself just as her phone buzzed. She looked down to read the text which I had come from her aunt’s phone.

“Hi Grace, it’s Hazel! Mommy-Tuba said I can text from her phone because she is driving. We are coming to your house to bring you food. Auto-correct is really good. Love Hazel.” the text read. That was pretty good timing considering the fact that Grace had just been hoping for company. Then again the rumbling in her stomach at the mention of any sort of food made her want to return to the bathroom immediately.

“That sounds good.” Grace responded before walking back to the bathroom to put her face back on to the cool tile floor for a moment of relief. She was so sweaty and gross but at the same time far too tired to take a shower. Despite her absolute refusal to think about it she really did want to call Simon. If anyone could listen to her groan in pain and not judge her it was him. But she didn’t have Simon’s number. There were plenty of times she could have asked for it and she knew he would have given it to her with no question if she had but she hadn’t. Grace didn’t know if that way due to pride or fear. “Probably a combination of both.” she thought before hunching back over the toilet to allow her body to reject what little food it still had left in it. After this had passed Grace heard the doorbell ring and dragged herself down the stairs to answer it. Wiping her face she opened the door to find none other than her co-workers standing on the stoop. Grace looked surprised.

“Wow you look awful.” Lake said. Grace rolled her eyes. Lake had a tendency to be a bit much and while it was occasionally endearing it was far less so when she felt like an on fire trash can.

“What are you two doing here?” Grace questioned. Jesse looked at her confused.

“What do you mean? This morning we texted you asking if it was okay to come drop something off for you and you replied yes.” he said fishing his phone out of his pocket to show her. Grace looked at the texts on his phone and checked her own phone for confirmation which she got.

“This entire day has been a bit of a blur.” Grace responded. ‘What do you have for me?” she asked. Lake handed her a large bouquet of flowers which was very nicely arranged. Grace looked thankful.

“They're not from us.” Lake clarified. “A skinny, rat looking guy came in and asked about you and despite my immediate instinct that this guy was a stalker somebody,” she looked at Jesse who looked sheepish in return. “Promised we would get them to you. I checked them for anything suspicious and they came up clean.” she added. Grace softened upon hearing this.

“Simon gave you these?” she asked. Jesse nodded.

“Yeah I think that was his name.” he responded. Grace smiled.

“Thanks for dropping these off.” Jesse nodded.

“Any time.” he said as he and Lake walked back to the car and drove off. Grace closed the door and set the flowers down to examine them. She quickly realized that Simon had incorporated every flower he’d bought from her and the arrangement work was very impressive. It was even more impressive when Grace remembered what a hell it must have been to complete it with his allergies.

“Simon you dork.” she thought to herself before examining the little paper card attached to the ribbon and reading it. “Get well soon.” was scribbled out haphazardly with a little smiley face draw next to it. Right below it was Simon’s phone number with the words. “If you want to talk.” next to it. Grace felt her heart stop. It was as if some cruel deity had answered her prayers and put her on the spot. Grace could feel that she’d be deliberating about this forever if she let herself so rather than do that she set about watering the flowers instead, grabbing a pitcher of water from the fridge and doing just that.” As she finished she head the doorbell ring and hoped that she hadn’t accidentally invited over more people in her fever induced haze. As she opened the door however she was greeted by the two people she did remember inviting over.

“Grace oh my gosh are you okay?” Hazel asked upon seeing the state of her cousin. “Should we call an ambulance?” she asked her mother. Tuba shook her head.

“No Hazel, your cousin Grace just needs rest, water and,” she unveiled what food she’d brought with her “the most bland rice and chicken I could manage.” she finished, handing Grace a Tupperware.

“Thank you?” she asked, confused. Tuba nodded back at her.

“If you’re having a hard time keeping stuff down, eating bland food will make sure what you eat stays in your stomach.” she said, explaining her thought process. Hazel walked into Grace’s apartment as Tuba was speaking to Grace seemingly bored by their conversation. Quickly she gravitated towards the new flowers.

“Can I water them?” Hazel asked. Grace shook her head as she and Tuba went deeper into the apartment.

“I already watered them today.” Grace explained. Hazel read the card aloud and lit up upon realizing who the flowers were from.

‘Did Simon give these to you?” Hazel asked. Grace looked around awkwardly trying to think of a response that wouldn’t make it painfully obvious to her aunt and cousin that they’d been completely right in their assumptions.

“Oh, are they? My co-workers dropped them off so I don't really know who they're from.” she said. Hazel looked like she didn’t believe a word that had come out of Grace’s mouth.

“It is from Simon, cause these are the flowers that he got when you had your meeting with the witch.” Hazel said pointing to the pincushion flowers.

“Damn little kids and their terrifyingly good memories.” Grace said to herself. “Oh, then I guess you’re right.” Grace said, hoping to change the subject. She knew it wouldn’t work from the sly smile that came across Hazel’s face.

“Are you going to call him?” she asked. That was a one hit K.O if Grace had even seen one and she hoped that someone, anyone would save her from this line of questioning. Her prayers were answered by her aunt who talked to her daughter.

“Hazel, as much as I love bullying your cousin we do have other things to attend to today so say goodbye.” Hazel looked upset but did as she was told.

“Bye Grace, don’t forget to call Simon!” she said before scurrying off to the car. Tuba shook her head and addressed her niece.

“Don’t forget to eat the food. It will taste like nothing but it will keep you sustained. Also, if you want my two cents,” she looked at Grace sympathetically. “Call him.” and that was the end of the conversation as Tuba walked out to the car and she and Hazel drove off. Grace took her Tupperware of food and sat down hoping that Tuba’s assessment about the blandness of the food had been an overstatement. It had not been, Grace was sure she could have gotten more flavor chewing on ice, but at the very least it didn’t make her stomach feel like an active volcano. As she ate she stared at the number written on the paper card and considered it for a moment. As she put away the Tupperware she grabbed a paper and pencil. On the top she wrote “Pros and Cons of calling Simon” and divided the paper into two columns. She started with Pros.

“Alright, pros of calling Simon: He can listen to me complain. He’ll probably have something really funny to say. I can thank him for the flowers and ask how he did it with his allergy. I can ask him to get me water while I lie on the bathroom floor in pain.” She could have probably thought of more but she decided moving on to the Cons column would be more productive. “Alright, Cons of calling Simon: He might know I like him.” she wrote it down and waited for more reasons but found they never came. Grace put her head on the table. From the list it was clear that she should just follow the advice she’d been given and call him but if he knew that she liked him that gave him power over her. And Grace hated that idea, the idea that Simon of all people, the total dork who used up all of the shop’s tissues, had any kind of power over her life. But he did whether she wanted to admit it or not, so, taking a deep breath, Grace grabbed her phone and dialed the number. She held her breath as it rang before she heard a click.

“Hello?” she heard Simon’s voice on the other end.

“Simon? It’s Grace.” she verified.

“Grace! Hi, hey, what’s up?” Simon said. Grace could hear his voice light up as soon as he heard her’s and it made her smile more than she’d like to admit.

“I have the stomach flu and I feel like shit.” she explained tiredly.

“Oh that sucks, I had the stomach flu once and nothing I ate stayed down. It was the worst. Are you okay?” he asked. Grace felt the urge to return to the bathroom floor as the combination of fever and the warm blush that crossed her face upon hearing Simon’s concern for her were working in tandem to make her feel much hotter than was comfortable.

“I’ll be fine, but I wish I had someone to keep me company. Do you mind staying on the phone with me?” she asked tiredly. The line was silent for a moment before she heard Simon laugh and her stomach dropped.

“I nodded before remembering that this is a phone conversation. I’d be honored to stay on the phone with you.” he said through his own laughter. Grace couldn’t help the feeling of happiness that enveloped her at hearing Simon’s laugh. This was nice, he was nice. And while there was the occasional need to stop talking to go evacuate her stomach for the most part Grace talked with Simon for the rest of the night. And not once did she regret calling him even for a second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: Sickness pushes Grace to swallow her pride


	7. Chapter 7

Simon blinked his eyes as he awoke that morning. Sitting up in his bed he rubbed his eyes and looked around his room for the low consistent sound that he could hear. Turning over he recognized that it had originated from his phone as that the sound was that of a snoring Grace on the other line. Looking at the call length Simon felt his heart stop as it read thirteen hours and counting. Panicking he hung up as he realized that he’d fallen asleep on the phone with her and had never hung up. “My phone bill is going to be so expensive.” he thought tiredly. He couldn’t believe that he’d fallen asleep still on the phone considering he couldn’t really remember falling asleep at all. “Falling asleep on the phone is for people who don’t pay phone bills.” Simon concluded before he dragged himself out of bed and walked over to the bathroom which was filthy as always. “I hate having roommates.” he concluded before staring at himself in the mirror. He looked as that Lake girl had put it “Like a stalker.” His hair was a mess, his eyes were filled with sleep and even on the best of days he looked a bit rough. He was fairly sure that he’d never seen Grace look anything less than perfect. He did recognize that it probably wasn’t a fair comparison considering whenever he saw Grace she was at work and she saw him while he was lounging around the mall but it didn’t stop him from feeling shitty about it. “Look at yourself Simon. In what possible universe are you attractive to someone like Grace?” he asked himself. Simon could barely stand himself and he had a hard time convincing himself that she could stand being around him in a friendly context. The idea of her liking him in a romantic capacity felt like a pipe dream. And yet he couldn’t get the idea out of his head that maybe it was possible. After all she had asked to stay on the phone with him. And she’d called him after getting the flowers. She was always nice to him. And yeah maybe that all could be explained away as friendship but sometimes Simon wasn’t sure. Maybe it would be better to just be outright rejected by her rather than to keep hanging around her as friends and reading into signs that weren't there. Perhaps it was time to just rip that bandaid off. He stared at himself in the mirror again, weighed his options and made a decision. “I’m going to ask her out.” Simon said, determined. “Today I’m going to ask her out.” he reaffirmed. “But first I’m going to take a shower.” he amended after looking at himself again.

After he showered and dressed Simon looked at himself again. “Better, still not good but better.” he decided. “Alright, time to go and ask her out!” he said before making no move to leave the room. Simon was terrified and wanted any excuse not to go ask Grace out. “After I do my work.” Simon decided. What a convenient time for him to decide to start being productive. Simon sat down and began working on his copious unfinished assignments rather than go to the mall and face his ever mounting fear of rejection. Unfortunately for Simon the universe seemed hell-bent on making sure he did just that as he finished what had before looked like a mountain of work in under an hour. “Somehow even my attempts to be productive end in disaster.” Simon noted before wracking his brain for anything he could do to waste time. There was always cleaning the bathroom but he wasn’t that desperate, yet. Simon groaned as it became clear he’d actually have to go do this. Steeling himself for the inevitable rejection he walked to his car and drove to the mall. As he approached the flower shop he was silently both happy and disappointed to see Grace behind the counter as she almost always was. Happy because Grace was there and looked beautiful as she always did, but disappointed because it meant he would actually have to deal with the struggle of asking her out. He looked to Grace’s side and noticed Hazel sat next to her behind the counter. “Great, I can get rejected in front of a small child.” Simon thought to himself as he walked towards the store. Hazel lit up with excitement as he entered.

“Simon, me and Grace were talking about you when I saw her yesterday.” she said. “And I saw the flowers that you gave her.” Hazel added. Grace looked embarrassed at Hazel’s words and gave the girl a look that said to stop talking before she responded.

“The flowers were really nice, thank you again.” Grace said to him.

“Is that the project you were working on?” Hazel asked. “It was kind of underwhelming.” Hazel said, giving her opinion. Grace shook her head.

“Hazel you are so rude.” she said. Hazel shrugged her shoulders.

“I simply share my honest opinion.” she said. Grace turned back to Simon.

“I thought it was really lovely.” Grae said genuinely.

“Okay, you can do this Simon, just say the words, just ask her if she would like to go on a date. She’s a person, you’re a person, all you have to do is ask her.” Simon told himself as he stared in silence at nothing.

“Simon? Are you okay?” Grace asked after Simon had been standing in silence for a concerning amount of time.

“What? Oh yeah I’m fine! I just wanted to…” Simon trailed off hoping that she would move on from the thing he’d said. She did not.

“Sorry what were you going to say?” Grace asked.

“Nothing! I wasn’t going to say anything! Are you feeling better from yesterday?” Simon asked. “Simon you are the world’s biggest idiot. You had the opportunity to ask her out and you totally blew it.” Simon mentally chastised.

“She’s way better from yesterday.” Hazel said “Yesterday I thought she was going to die.” she added happily. Grace rolled her eyes.

“I did not look that bad yesterday.” Grace responded. Hazel laughed and shook her head.

“Yes you did. You looked like a zombie.” Hazel said laughing. Grace’s watch beeped and she groaned.

“Ugh I’m not in the mood to get chewed out by Amelia.” she looked at Hazel “Can I just stay here with you.” Hazel shook her head in response.

“Nope. Go to your meeting and find more proof that your boss is a witch.” Hazel said seriously “Simon will watch me, like last time.” Hazel said. Grace looked at him.

“Is that okay with you?” she asked. Simon nodded in response, still unable to really say anything.

“Thanks so much I’ll be back in five.” she said, darting off to her meeting. Hazel looked at Simon seriously.

“Okay, she’s gone now. Tell me what your plan is.” Hazel asked. Simon looked at her confused.

“My plan?” he asked. Hazel looked at him annoyed.

“Your plan to date my cousin.” Hazel explained. Hazel shook her head at him exasperated. “You and Grace both don’t know what you’re doing. You two are practically the same person.” she added.

“I don’t have a plan to date your cousin.” Simon lied. Hazel rolled her eyes.

“It’s not good to lie and it’s even worse to lie when you’re bad at it.” Hazel said sagely. “Anyway here’s my plan for you, first we’re going to need a lot of balloons-” Hazel started. Simon chuckled at the beginning of Hazel’s plan.

“Listen, Grace is very nice but I don’t think that it would be nice to put her on the spot and ask her to date me when I don’t think she'd be interested.” Simon said spilling his guts to a child because no one else would listen. Hazel put her head in her hands.

“Is everyone around here totally blind?” she asked no one in particular. “How do you not know that she likes you? She laughs at your jokes even when they’re not funny, she always waits for you to show up so she can talk to you, and she trusts you with me which is huge because I am precious.” Hazel explained. Simon had to admit it did seem like she might like him when laid out like that but still, he couldn’t just take the world of this six year old as gospel.

“I guess that it’s possible.” Simon said before Hazel interjected.

“It’s more than possible, it’s true. You should ask her out so then the two of you can get married and I can be the flower girl.” Hazel explained. That's what Simon was waiting for.

“I think you just want me and Grace to date so you get to be a flower girl.” Simon said.

“It’s just a nice bonus.” Hazel said sweetly before Grace began approaching the store again. “She’s almost back, I hope you have a good plan.” she added finally before Grace entered the store and took her place behind the counter.

“Instead of a meeting Amelia just gave me a profanity laden tirade which hurt more but was over faster so I’m back now.” She said, explaining why she was back so quickly. “So what did you two talk about?” Grace asked Hazel.

“Normal stuff, like balloons and marriage.” Hazel said innocently. If Grace had a drink she would have spit it out at the mention of marriage.

“And what marriage stuff did you talk about?” Grace asked the little girl.

“Just how I would make an excellent flower girl.” Hazel concluded. “Anyway I think I hear mommy-Tuba calling so I have to go.” Hazel said just as Tuba rounded the corner to come pick her daughter up.

“Bye Grace, bye Simon.” Hazel said to the two as she walked off with her mother.

“Okay Simon, it’s just the two of you right now. All you have to do is ask her out. Hazel thinks you’ve got a chance which probably means nothing but at least you're not alone.” he thought. But despite his best efforts to convince himself that this wasn’t going to end horribly Simon still couldn’t find it in him to simply ask the question opting to change the subject instead. “What’s your favorite flower?” he asked. Grace thought for a moment.

“Maybe the Camellia?” she offered. “I like lots of flowers but those ones are special to me I guess. The first flower in my garden was a camellia because my friend gave me some imported seeds she’d gotten that she didn’t want.” Grace explained. Simon listened thoughtfully as Grace explained her history with the flower that had become her favorite. “I fell in love with gardening because of how I don’t know, accessible it was. It felt good to grow something, to nurture it into maturity and to watch it bloom all the while knowing that you had a hand in it.” Grace went on. It was clear that she was truly passionate about the things she talked about and Simon thought back to the conversation they’d had where she’d told him that maybe he simply hadn’t found what he was truly passionate about yet. Standing in front of Grace now Simon still hadn’t found that thing. But listening to Grace gush about the things that she loved made him want to try. He wanted to feel about something what she felt about her flowers, about her dancing. And he wanted Grace to be there when he did discover what it was that he’d go on about forever.

“Grace, would you like to go on a date with me sometime?” Simon asked. He prepared himself for the rejection he knew was coming. He prepared to put on a brave face and smile as he went back home and cried that he should have just kept his mouth shut so he could have at least kept Grace in his life as a friend. He was ready to have his heart crushed and to have it be no one’s fault but his own.

“Sure, what were you thinking?” Grace asked, smiling.

“No I get it, I was just joking I think we’re better as friends-wait did you say yes?” Simon asked, already having started with his rejection response.

“Well technically I said sure, but yes I would like to go on a date with you.” Grace said happily. “So where do you want to go?” she asked. Simon still stared awestruck.

“To be honest I didn’t really think that far ahead. I honestly thought you were going to say no.” he admitted. Grace laughed.

“I thought I was being super obvious considering even Hazel picked up on it.” Grace said laughing. “But on the subject of dates, we can just go to the park or something. It doesn’t really have to be fancy for a first date.” Grace explained.

“But isn’t the first date the one were you’re supposed to impress?” Simon asked. In all honesty he’d gone on basically no dates in his life and his conception of romance came mostly from movies and his parents. Grace shook her head.

“You made me a beautiful bouquet while knowing nothing about flowers and while having intense allergies. I’m as impressed as a person can be.” Grace told him. Simon smiled.

“Alright then, how is Saturday?” Simon asked.

“Sounds good to me.” Grace responded.

“Alright!” Simon said happily. “I don’t suppose you want to listen to me complain about coding class for way too long?” Simon asked.

“I would like nothing more.” Grace said. Simon still couldn’t believe that this wasn’t all some nice dream he’d concocted after being brutally rejected by the girl of his dreams. Grace had really agreed to go on a date with him. She’d actually seemed excited about it as well. Simon’s invasive thoughts told him that he’d somehow fuck this up but who cared. Grace liked him, so he must be doing something right.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: I don't know, I never thought I'd get this far


	8. Chapter 8

Grace felt more nervous than she probably should have. After all, what did she have to be nervous about, she was just going out with Simon. It didn’t help that the dates Grace had been on had almost exclusively gone terribly either due to the dates having been set up by her parents or due to the guys clearly only being interested in one thing, though what that thing was varied. Still, Simon was Simon and he was going to like her either way so she really didn’t need to spend all of this time picking an outfit. “It’s the first time he’s seen me outside of uniform, I want to impress.” Grace told herself despite directly having told Simon that he didn’t need to impress her. “I’m nothing if not consistently inconsistent.” Grace thought, remembering a phrase one of her parents had said to her. Tiredly Grace settled on an outfit and began getting herself ready to go out. As she completed getting dressed she heard the doorbell ring and went to go open it. Simon stood on her stoop and smiled at her when she opened the door. “Hey Simon, you look really nice.” Grace said as she closed the door behind her after stepping out.

“Thanks, you look really nice too. I mean you always look nice I don’t mean that you just now starting looking nice I just mean that you look nicer than usual.” Simon stammered out. Grace laughed.

“Thank you.” she responded, having gotten the gist of what Simon had meant. The two walked casually side by side towards the park and Grace almost unconsciously snaked her hand into Simon’s as they walked. She saw a blush cross his face that he tried his best to ignore and Grace struck up a conversation. “This feels like high school, I think that was the last time I held hands with someone.” she said casually. Simon chuckled.

“I went on absolutely no dates in high school so I wouldn’t even know the last time I held someone’s hand.” he mentioned. Grace looked at him pleasantly.

“Oh come on I don't believe that, you didn’t go on any dates in high school, not even one?” she asked. Simon shook his head.

“I was more concerned with out doing the other nerds in my robotics club than asking someone out.” he explained. “I do remember getting asked out a few times but I didn’t realize that was what was happening until way later.” he joked. “How about you?” he asked

“Well my dating life in high school can be divided into two categories, dates my parents forced me on while they talked to the parents of whatever guy I was having dinner with, and guys that asked me out who I was too nice to reject.” Grace said. “Needless to say I wasn’t exactly having a great time on those dates. Usually a solid three out of ten I’d say.” Simon looked nervous

“And what would you rate this date so far?” he asked awkwardly. Grace pretended to look thoughtful.

“A good eight and a half so far.” she said with a smile. Simon looked relieved.

“Well luckily for you I was and still am a total nerd who can’t settle for anything less than perfection. I can’t be satisfied with a B grade.” he explained. Grace smirked.

“Well I’ll have you know you’ll have to put in some real effort, I don’t grade on a curve.” she teased. Simon smiled back at her.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” he responded as the two arrived at the park and looked around. “So, do you want to walk the trail?” he asked. Grace nodded.

“Sounds good to me.” she responded as they followed the stone path that led throughout the park. “So, you like robots huh?” Grace asked at the mention of Simon having been in a robotics club.

“Oh, yeah. I like technology in general, I like making stuff. One day I’m going to make something that changes the world.” he said excitedly. Grace smiled to herself, this was the same guy who’d said he wasn’t sure what he was passionate about yet. Looking at Simon she could tell exactly what that thing was even if he couldn’t.

“You sound really sure of yourself, do you really think you can do it?” she asked. Simon shrugged his shoulders.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. Sometimes I find it very hard to believe in myself about that goal. But I know that I want to, and that's a start at least.” he offered. Grace gave him a soft smile.

“Then, I’ll be happy to believe in you.” Grace offered. Simon blushed again.

“Thank you.” he said as they continued walking. “So how about you? Is teaching dance what you want to do?” he asked her.

“It's part of it, the second part to be exact. First I want to travel the world with a high class ballet company. I want to perform all over, to see audiences filled with all different types of faces everywhere i go. And then, I want to open up my own studio and teach dance.” she explained. Simon looked at her with interest. “What?” she asked jokingly.

“I just think it’s really funny how your dream is so well defined and planned out meanwhile mine is probably the most vague thing I could have said.” Simon explained. “How’d you plan all of that out?” he asked.

“How did you decide you wanted to change the world.” Grace asked as a deflection.

“I asked you first.” Simon reminded. Grace relented and answered the question.

“When I was younger my parents wanted me to be well rounded so they signed me up for a ton of activities. I didn’t like most of them and I almost always quit really quickly but I loved ballet. It was the first place I made friends and it was like my escape. So I knew that I wanted to do it And on top of that I wanted the children that came after me to have that same experience I had, of getting to make friends, and of having an escape. So that's how I decided what I wanted to do.” she explained “So how about you, what grand experience led you to want to change the world?” she asked teasingly.

“I wanted to be rich.” Simon said simply. Grace looked surprised. “Okay, okay that’s not the real reason. Or that’s not the whole reason. I wanted to be able to live comfortably but mostly I just thought you know if I can make the world better for some people than I did something worth remembering.” he offered. Grace nodded at his justification. As the two continued walking the trail around the park Simon looked at Grace and spoke. “Hey let’s go across the street.” Simon said, trying to sound normal. Grace looked at him sideways.

“Why?” she asked.

“No reason.” Simon said nervously. Grace playfully rolled her eyes and walked up ahead. As she did she noticed that across the street just so happened to be a karaoke bar. Grace looked at him.

“What a strange coincidence that this place just happened to be here, guess we got to go inside and investigate.” Simon said through his own laughter which was quickly joined by Grace as they headed towards the building. The two sat down, ordered some fries and looked over the list of songs together.

“You know I’m not totally convinced that this isn’t just a ploy to embarrass me by deciding to show off that you're an excellent singer when we get on stage.” Grace joked. Simon shook his head.

“I solemnly swear not to become an amazing singer and embarrass you on stage, scouts honor.” Simon said, doing the hand gesture to show that he was legitimate.

“You were a scout?” Grace asked. Simon nodded in response.

“Yeah, but my dad was the troop leader so most of my scout memories are just me eating chips in the backseat of my mom’s minivan before meetings.” he explained. Grace laughed.

“Honestly that sounds like it would still be awesome today.” Grace said jokingly

“Idea for a second date, I go to Oregon, steal my mom’s minivan, bring it back and we eat chips in it.” Simon responded laughing. Grace smirked.

“Oh so you’re already planning a second date? A little presumptuous are we?” Grace teased. Simon blushed and changed the subject.

“Let’s pick a song.” he said jokingly. The two scanned through the book of songs before Grace stopped at a particular page and frantically pointed at it.

“This is the one! This one right here!” Grace said excited pointing to a song and Simon looked over to see what she was gesturing towards. He raised an eyebrow when he realized what song she was gesturing towards.

“Total Eclipse of the Heart? Isn’t it a little cliche for karaoke?” he asked casually. Grace rolled her eyes and gave her reasoning.

“Cliches become chiles for a reason and that reason is that they’re awesome. Now get up on that stage and sing your heart out with me.” she replied. “And yes, if there will be a second date is wholly contingent on how well you hit the high notes.” she added with a wink. Simon looked at her determined.

“Is that a challenge?” he asked. Grace smirked back at him.

“Will you take it if it is?” she asked. It was over at that point, they were performing the song. Grace put them in line and they snacked on their fries as they waited for their number to be called. When it was finally announced that it was their turn Grace felt a pit form in her stomach. She loved to perform and had been doing it for years but when she performed she was dancing. And while she could critique herself forever she knew in her heart that she at least had some prowess in dancing. It was easy to perform when you understand on a gut-level that you know what you’re doing. But Grace could not sing, or at least not very well. Doing it in front of people took a level of effort Grace never had to muster for dancing and doing it on a first date was even more terrifying. But she still wanted to do it, because despite how seemingly flawless she was in her schooling and career and life Grace Monroe was a human. And sometimes humans like to do things they know they aren't great at because it brings them joy. Cautiously Grace took the microphone in her hand as she and Simon stepped onto the stage and the opening notes of Bonnie Tyler’s classic 80’s power ballad began playing. The performance was exhilarating, and in that moment Grace wasn’t really concerned with if she was doing good or bad, she was having fun and so was Simon from the look on his face. As they sat down having concluded their performance Grace just wanted to do it again.

“That was awesome! Let’s do another song!” Simon said happily, evidently he felt the same. Grace smiled at him and ordered another basket of fries.

“Sounds good to me. Also you definitely weren't kidding about not suddenly becoming a great singer.” Grace teased. Simon blushed at her embarrassed.

“I wasn’t that bad.” he responded. Grace playfully tossed a fry at him which hit his face and fell into his lap.

“You weren’t bad at all, I just like teasing you.” she responded.

“Yeah, well I’m picking the next song, so unless you want to sing something totally ridiculous I suggest you share more fries than you throw.” Simon responded humorously. The two weren’t really aware of how much time they’d spent eating snacks and singing until they realized the place was about to close as one of the workers began sweeping up. They made sure to give a big tip as an apology for forcing them to listen to hours of poorly belted power ballads and off the beat rapping before Simon walked Grace back to her house. As they walked together hand in hand the pair chatted. “So, how did I do on the date ranking scale?” Simon questioned trying not to sound too invested in the answer. Grace shook her head and pretended to be deep in thought.

“Hmm, well the date isn't over until we reach my door so you’ll have to wait for your final results.” Grace teased him.

“So I guess that means I still have time to earn bonus points.” Simon offered. Grace chuckled at this.

“And what exactly do you think you can do to earn bonus points?” Grace asked him.

“Perhaps a serenade with my lovely voice?” he joked. Grace shook her head.

“I think I’ve heard enough of your singing for one lifetime.” she responded as the two reached Grace’s doorstep. “Also looks like you’ve run out of time to gain bonus points.” she added. Simon gave a fake sad sigh.

“So, what was my final score for this date?” Simon asked. Grace didn’t hesitate with the answer.

“A perfect ten out of ten.” she said before giving Simon a gentle peck on the lips. It wasn’t all that deep or passionate but it was quick and sweet and Grace enjoyed it despite it’s quickness. Simon stood frozen for a moment still processing that he’d actually gotten a kiss. “Goodnight Simon.” Grace said as she stepped inside the door.

“Goodnight Grace.” Simon responded as he left, still awestruck. As Grace went inside intending on heading up to her bedroom she passed by the bouquet Simon had made for her and an unintentionally smile crossed her face. She grabbed the pitcher from the fridge and watered them. As she did so she examined the blooms of each flower and thought quietly to herself.

“I wonder if Simon knows he has a very pretty voice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: AND I NEED YOU NOW TONIGHT


End file.
